Last week was mostly likely a crash course in really getting to know the women in your group. Between the ice breaker question (who has been the most influential person in their life and how so?) and other personal questions posed early on in our gatherings (About how long has your journey with God been thus far? How did it begin?), you should be well on your way to knowing who the women are who gather in your living room weekly. Many groups we’ve talked to only got through these first few questions last week and that’s perfectly okay!

Contact any group members who didn’t show up last week, encouraging them to make it to group this week. If there’s anyone who hasn’t shown up to either of the first two gatherings, ask them if they’d like to join you all this week or if this perhaps isn’t a good time for them to be in a group after all. You can let her know we’ll have another session of Spark groups launching in late April if this timing isn’t working for her.

Personally invite anyone you think may be interested in baptism to the Baptism Class on February 21 @ 12:45 PM in the box office! Thank her for sharing her story last week and let her know she’s been on your mind ever since. Explain that before each baptism event, Mission hosts a baptism class that helps people learn more, ask questions, and hear about other people's journeys toward baptism.

You can include the link to the baptism form (missionventura.com/baptism) that we ask everyone to complete before getting baptized, letting her know that it’s a great way to walk though her own story before making the decision to go public her faith! Let her know that if she does decide to get baptized, that she wouldn’t be alone, your whole group would love to be there cheering her on at the beach!More info about baptism is near the end of the resource!

Reach out to anyone else whose story stuck out to you this week. Thank her for sharing and let her know she’s been on your mind ever since. Grab coffee with a woman struggling in her marriage, a mom feeling like she isn’t enough, a woman tentatively coming back to God after years of living her life her own way and doing her own thing…

Remind whoever signed up to bring refreshments that it’s their week to bring them!

We are a group of imperfect people pursuing a perfect God. We exist to help each other find and follow Christ. We aim to passionately love Jesus, ruthlessly eliminate ego, courageously live in grace and truth, confidently know who we are in Christ, unconditionally trust God, intentionally live better stories, and selflessly extend compassion.

These are some things we want to be true of our group:

We create a safe and honest environment, staying transparent and authentic.

We keep it inside the circle. Confidentiality is necessary for a healthy group.

We look together to the Bible for help and guidance, and keep out our own politics, sales, or agendas.

We do not try to fix each other, preach sermons, or give unsolicited advice. We instead encourage, listen to, and celebrate each other.

We handle conflict between us quickly and honestly by going to the person, owning our part, and practicing forgiveness.

We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.

We trust that it is God’s role to change people, not ours.

We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.

Don't miss out on these chances to learn more about each other! Even if you feel like the ice is already broken in your group, and you don't "need" help getting rolling, don't skip these great starter questions!

Since we believe transformation happens best in the context of circles (read "circles" as "deep, significant relationships"), we can also assume that the more we know about each other, the more commonality we can uncover, will only lead us to better connection, better study, and more transformation in the long run!

What interest haven’t you pursued, but have always wanted to?what draws you to it?

Flipping through Week Two’s homework, what’s one thing that was significant for you? Why do you think it had an impact on you?

From Day One (page 39), what relationships do you have at church that you wouldn’t have anywhere else? Or if you don't have them yet, what relationships are you looking for at church that you don't have anywhere else?

From Day Two (page 43) Beth Moore said, "Where I look impacts how I feel". Have you discovered a strong connection between where you look and how you feel? If so, how? Try to get specific.

On Day Three, (page 50) What did you do or wish you could have done after seeing someone harshly ridiculed?

On Day Four (page 56) What might have happened with your life “if the Lord had not been on [your] side?

On Day Five (page 60) what words from Romans 8:28-39 did God use to tell you what He’ll do for you?

Use the last 15 minutes of group to open it up to any prayer requests and close in prayer. It can help to ask everyone in the group what the best way to keep those prayer requests in front of everyone would. Is it a group message, an email thread, is it a few every couple days throughout the week? Make it a big deal, and a joint effort!

End the study on time, letting people hang out if you can/want to.

Sunday, February 28 @ 1:00 PMMarina Park, Ventura

This is an all-skate event for anyone and everyone at Mission! Come celebrate the people that are going public with their faith through baptism! Grab lunch if you want it and hang out at Marina Park and we'll all head to the beach together. This is a can't-miss experience!

Friday, May 6Ventura Fairgrounds

NTR 2016 is almost here! And we want you to be a part of it!

This is an amazing way to serve the people in our community, and even grow together as a group. Volunteer together and don't miss this incredible event!

A lot of things in life are overrated; the restaurant you tried, the movie you went to, the sports team you were rooting for. A lot of things in life are overrated. Hope is not one of them. Hope lets us believe that things can be different. It allows us to dream, changes our perspective; it sees potential. Hope means it's not over yet - that maybe we could find more peace, purpose, direction, meaning, love. No matter who we are or what our lives look like, we could all use a little more hope, couldn't we?

During the month of March at Mission we are going to dive in, dissect and discover together how hope enables us to move forward with courage and confidence.

Send around prayer requests after group each gathering so they can be praying for each other throughout the week. Encourage them to “reply all” with any more prayer requests that come up throughout the week!

Pray for the ladies God has put in your care throughout this week. He will speak to you about their specific needs for encouragement and will provide you with everything you need in order to act on them; time, love, patience, and most of all, a full cup yourself so you can pour out to others.

Contact anyone who didn't show up to let them know they were missed and that you hope to see them next week. Update your CCB group as you hear of additions/subtractions to your group.